Concert Recap: elijah woods Shares All His Love at Taipei Show

This past Friday, Taipei was brimming with energy despite the mugginess and raininess of the day. On May 24, elijah woods graced the Clapper Studio stage in Taiwan’s capital city. This show marked the final stop on the Canadian singer-songwriter’s first Asia tour, which also took him to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Manila, and Tokyo. Elijah brought his 6’5” (or almost 196 cm) self, his first ever-released track “lights,” his viral love song “24/7, 365,” and his humor to Taipei. During the “ilu 24/7, 365 tour” show in Taipei, love was in the music, on the stage, and in the air. 

Feeling the Love in Taipei

A hush fell over the crowd when the stage lights darkened, anticipation palpable in the space. As music started playing and the lights rose again — first, a darker blue and then a more purple-pink color — a singular microphone stood (very) tall in the center of the stage. Elijah woods walked out to loud cheers, then launched into “past lives,” “make believe,” and his debut song “lights.” If his setlist follows the ebbs and flows of love, then the beginning of elijah’s concert reflected the starry-eyed stage of romantic love. Or maybe, it also reflected the exuberant yet familiar energy of reconnecting with long-time friends. 

On elijah woods’ official “ilu 24/7, 365” tour setlist playlist, “first night” featuring JESSIA is the fourth song. However, during the Taipei show, elijah swapped this 2021 track for his upcoming single, “2 thousand 10.” Since elijah has been teasing “2 thousand 10” on his social media, the crowd sang along, remembering where they were in 2010. Now the real question is: when is the song dropping on streaming platforms? 

From the start of the hour-and-a-half concert, the Taipei crowd and elijah’s synergy was top-notch. He frequently taught the audience how to sing special parts, such as the “yeah yeah yeah yeah” of “2 thousand 10,” his patience and his humor on full display. Many listeners are drawn to elijah’s music because of his authentic stories (honey-sweet “24/7, 365” and gut-wrenching “losing a friend” immediately come to mind), and this unfiltered realness joined the artist on stage. “Y’all are so loud,” elijah joked a few songs into the show. Laughter and more cheers, of course, followed his teasing honesty. 

Love, Heartbreak, and a Little Therapy 

The 6’5” man is not just smiles and laughs and love songs, though, as he proved through his recent EP silver lining. It was time for a little dash of heartbreak — but, love is always, always there. To lead into the next section of the concert, elijah asked the audience if anyone had experienced heartbreak before. In response to the yeses called out, the singer didn’t hold back from sharing that he, too, has gotten his heart broken. The date of this heartbreak, elijah noted, is very important, to which he began to sing “I think it was the fourth of that July” from “fingers crossed.” 

The bouncier “easier said” (but still a lyrical punch in the gut) lightened the mood, especially when elijah reached the “I bought a guitar line.” He and his guitarist had a bit of fun, with elijah repeating “I bought a guitar” and his guitarist replying with a new riff every time. A similar synergy emerged between elijah and the crowd, so much so that when the singer took a break between tracks, he admitted, “This is so much fun” and “I absolutely love Taipei.” Of course, since this is Taiwan that we’re talking about, elijah also gave a shoutout to the people and the food. And the high energy reached even higher heights when he shouted, “I love you so much!” (Plus, another time but in Mandarin.) Someone in the crowd echoed that sentiment right back to him, too, causing excited screams to erupt.

But it was now time to get vulnerable. As elijah said to more cheers, “Let’s get a little emotional.” “Okay, you guys are messed up,” was his reply, although he was laughing good-naturedly at the same time. When the laughs faded, elijah spoke about his recent friend breakup and how he has been processing all his emotions in therapy. The singer shared an exercise that has helped him and even led the audience through an example. Close your eyes, he said first, and think about something that has been weighing you down. Then, take a deep breath, and exhale this thing out, pushing it as far away from you as possible. The concert venue became a place of connection and meditation, as elijah guided the audience, calming music playing in the background. 

Since everyone was already in their feelings anyway, the emotional “losing a friend” was next. Elijah’s voice was clear and light, although he was surrounded by darkness at the beginning of the song. As “losing a friend” progressed — with more instruments joining in and elijah singing more powerful notes — the stage lights got brighter and brighter. Elijah recognized the pain and the loss he was experiencing, but this acknowledgment also came with a sense of freedom. He could see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. 

“Second guessing,” which was released in the same EP as “losing a friend,” confronted tough emotions, too. Elijah leaned into the warped sound effects in this track by keeping the stage set up simple. When “second guessing” began, the crowd could barely see the singer because he was concealed by blue fog that had accumulated on stage. It was just elijah with his mic, pouring his soul out with intense flashing lights later reflecting the chaos of emotions. 

“Hell yeah, we process our emotions,” he couldn’t help joking once the last note faded, and the stunned silence was broken. That was the “hardest part of the set,” elijah also revealed. From now until the end of the concert, there would be no more sad songs. We confronted our feelings — and we made it out alive. 

Taipei Is On Fire 

To change things up (and to take an emotional breather), elijah went for an acoustic version of “wildfire,” another track from his first EP. Some people were already familiar with the “whoa whoa-oh whoa-oh” bit of this song; however, elijah took some time to teach those who weren’t familiar with it. 

As he sang the final lyrics of “wildfire” — “‘Cause your love is like wildfire” — he made a small adjustment. “Taipei is fire!” elijah shouted. In between songs, elijah teased the audience about how we just follow what he does. So, he conducted an experiment: he said a bit mischievously, “Woo,” and the crowd followed up with their own “Woo.” Then, elijah decided only the guys should say “Woo.” The result? A very funny, deep “Woo” coming from all parts of Clapper Studio. 

After some more lyric changes — “Taipei, I’m so happy tonight” in his melancholic track “almost happy” — pure love became the sole focus of elijah’s setlist. Starting with “where we’re going,” it was clear elijah was full of love, from the lyrics he sang to the down-to-earth feeling when he chatted and interacted with the crowd. 

For the Swifties out there, elijah also performed an acoustic cover of the runaway hit “Cruel Summer.” Once the audience recognized the first few notes, many were singing along, especially during the famous bridge section. However, elijah couldn’t help pulling another prank in Taipei. He pretended that he was singing the bridge and chorus one last time, but he stopped abruptly just before it. Of course, some came to a screeching halt, while others kept singing and dashing forward with excitement. “Everyone who kept singing is my favorite,” he said with a chuckle in his voice. 

And the love from elijah (and from the audience) didn’t stop there. Before transitioning to the heartfelt “last girl,” he asked, “Who’s here with someone they love?” One scan around the venue, and you would probably see more than a few couples. Plus, while not romantic love, elijah’s caring nature was also on full display, like when he asked his team to turn down the bottom lights on the stage. The reason why? He had noticed that the front row were squinting their eyes because of the lights’ brightness. But a joke did slip through all the same, as elijah mimicked his fans’ faces and their struggle to see anything beyond the bright lights. 

I Love You 24/7, 365

Elijah kicked off the final minutes of “ilu 24/7, 365” with a question, namely, had anyone ever slid into another’s Instagram DMs. At first, he was only asking the guys at the concert, but when the singer heard some girls screaming the affirmative, he went with the flow. “Okay, this is for everyone then!” 

This question was actually related to how elijah met his now-fiancé. His pick-up line? “Why do you look so familiar?” (Yes, he did bend his head a little bit with shame at that one.) “If there’s one point you can boo, it’s here,” he added jokingly. 

But elijah didn’t reveal that information just because. Ahead of “if you want love,” he tasked the crowd with screaming when they heard his DM in the lyrics. And they just happened to be the very first lines of the song. 

“I love seeing you guys sing,” he said happily as the song ended. “It’s my favorite thing.” With “everyday everywhere always,” “ilu,” and “take care” wrapping up the concert with love, “24/7, 365” made elijah’s message crystal clear. As it sits around 86 million streams on Spotify, this “I’m in love and I love it” song was undoubtedly a crowd-favorite. Elijah’s Taipei audience sang along with most of the track, even when the singer looped the chorus one last time without the instrumental. 

“I don’t take this for granted,” elijah revealed to his fans. “I’m a nobody from nowhere Canada.” As many at that concert would agree, though, the “24-7, 3-6-5” love between artist and fans was something very special. 

All the Love For elijah woods 

While closing the night with “24/7, 365” was already a wholesome note to part ways on, elijah woods had one more surprise up his sleeve. As the crowd chanted “Encore, encore, encore,” he reappeared on stage to sing “Fix You” by Coldplay. (Coldplay held a concert in Taiwan, too, last fall.) Although elijah asked his fans if they liked Coldplay — the answer was obviously yes — he had a punchline ready. He replied with a laugh, “I’m glad because this is all we prepared.” 

With a strum of a guitar and sans his sweater (he was only wearing a white muscle shirt at this point), elijah woods wrapped up the final stop on his first Asia tour. 

Or was it? 

Some fans lingered after “Fix You,” while others made their way towards the exit. For those who waited; however, elijah had even more love to share. The venue lights were on and pop music was playing over the speakers. But elijah came back out on stage anyway to sing an acoustic version of “24/7, 365” one last time (really this time). And if you haven’t sung “I love you 24/7, 365” in one voice with elijah and a room full of fans, then, well, we would highly recommend it.  

Keep up with elijah woods and his music on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Want more concert coverage? Check out EnVi’s recap of CIX’s “0 to 1” show in New York here!